Tidbites | Week of August 8, 2013

The Kaiser from Avery

Two big beers birthed

A rare Boulder-made lager will be released soon, in an annual sign that summer is relatively near its end.

Avery Brewing Company has announced the release of the 10.2 percent ABV Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest, which will be available in 22-ounce bomber bottles in liquor stores. Avery Director of Operations Steve Breezley says this year’s version of the Kaiser is maltier than past Kaisers. The Kaiser release party is 5 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Avery taproom.

Also hitting shelves this week from Avery is one of its biggest beers, The Beast. The Belgian Grand Cru has cracked 18 percent ABV for the first time since 2004, and it ranks as “one of the biggest beers the brewery has ever made,” an Avery press release says.

The unfiltered ale is made with six malts, six hops and six sugars. Avery owner Adam Avery says in the press release he “wanted something that bordered on liqueur, something rummy or maybe like Cognac.”

Available in 12-ounce bottles, The Beast will be released this week to certain liquor stores. More information is available at Avery’s website.

Carrot IPA is back

Twisted Pine Brewing Company has announced the return of its popular carrot IPA, Roots Revival, available as a summer seasonal.

Part of Twisted Pine’s Farm to Foam series, the beer uses hops from Montrose and Paonia, barley and wheat from Alamosa and organic carrots grown at Longmont’s Ollin Farms.

The Roots Revival was released Aug. 1, in time for National IPA Day. It’s 7 percent ABV and 47 IBU, and will be available starting this week at Twisted Pine’s taphouse, “select bars and restaurants” and on liquor store shelves in 750-mL bottles.

Twisted Pine’s Justin Tillotta says the beer will last “at least a month, maybe two.” He says the next seasonal from Twisted Pine will be Big Sticke double altbier, due out in the taproom in “a couple weeks.” More information about Twisted Pine’s beers is available at twistedpinebrewing.com.

Farm to table right there at the farm

Speaking of Ollin Farms, which we were more or less, the Longmont farm is the site of an Aug. 10 farm-to-table fundraiser dinner to benefit WOW! Children’s Museum in Lafayette.

The dinner, scheduled for 6-9 p.m. Aug. 10, costs $60 per person, $20 of which is a donation to WOW!, which is a nonprofit dedicated to educating children and encouraging imagination. A press release from WOW! carefully notes that those over 21 are welcome to bring their own wine or beer for the dinner. Those seeking more information can call 303-604-2424 or visit www.wowchildrensmuseum.org.

Mini-mead

Boulder honey wine maker Redstone Meadery, which already distributes its mead to liquor stores in 750-mL bottles, has announced that it will begin canning some of its meads in 500-mL cans, to be available nationally.

The three varieties to get the aluminum treatment are Black Raspberry Nectar, apricot-flavored

Sunshine Nectar and Nectar of the Hops. As nectars, all three are carbonated and are 8 percent ABV.

Redstone has planned to can its mead for “a few years,” a press release says. But since mead is classified as a wine product, Redstone faced tighter restrictions on package sizes and styles. It eventually tracked down appropriate 500-mL (16.9-ounce) cans from the U.K.

Redstone, which distills its mead and has a taproom at 4700 Pearl St., Unit 2A, in Boulder, is the largest craft mead maker in the country. Its website is redstonemeadery.com.

Chipotle debuting new concepts at Denver festival

At the Chipotle Cultivate Festival, previewed in a previous installment of Tidbites, the Denver-based restaurant chain will bring out a new type of taco and burrito filling that it’s been serving in the Pacific Northwest.

Chipotle’s Sofritas tofu tacos will be available at the free festival, taking place Aug. 17 in Denver’s City Park. Chipotle will also be serving ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen rice bowls; ShopHouse is a Chipotle concept currently being tested in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Denver’s Great Divide Brewing Company will debut a new farmhouse ale, called Cultivate, made in collaboration with Chipotle.

The Cultivate Festival will also include a tent full of artisan food vendors, including Boulder bakers Absurdly Good Stuffin’ Muffins and Longmont’s Hops and Heifers Farm. Information about the free festival can be found at Chipotle’s website.